Who?
by cjh4ever
Summary: After responding to an alert, Jack loses his memory. How do he and the team cope? Read this and find out! All characters featured and, in case you are wondering, there's no crossover to Doctor Who.
1. Prologue

_This story is set after To the Last Man but there are few references to this or other episodes._

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**Who?**

Prologue

The call came over the radio as PC Andy Davidson was thinking of home. It was six forty, only an hour and a bit to the end of his shift, and he was always tired at the end of a stint on nights. He was tempted to ignore the call but his training and his own inbuilt need to help people in trouble overrode this momentary lapse and he turned the car in the direction of Bishopston Road, Ely.

"Tell them we're responding," he said to the Special riding with him. They were under strength still and it had been his turn to get the amateur. Although, he admitted, Phil was turning out all right.

"Right." Phil Durrant loved using the radio and riding around in the police car. So far in his two months as a Special Constable, he'd been on foot patrol round the city, mainly at night when the pubs and clubs turned out. There was no obscenity he had not heard and his boots had been baptised with vomit on numerous occasions. Riding with Andy Davidson was such a relief.

Andy drove round the well known streets and pulled up outside the house. Or rather, what was left of the house. He found a place to park, alongside the fire engine, ambulance and another police car. Full house, he thought, as he stopped the engine and climbed out of the vehicle. He stopped a moment, surveying the scene and put his night stick in its loop on his belt.

The front and inside of the house had been destroyed, completely destroyed. The explosion must have occurred downstairs as it had blown upwards and taken off the upper story and roof. Only the back wall was still standing, though blackened and steaming from the fire fighters' attempts to douse any chance of fire taking hold. Personal belongings of the family that lived here – had lived here, he amended – were scattered on the front garden and partly on the street outside. All of it was burnt except, he noticed with sadness, a child's high chair. It was so much worse when children were involved. Miraculously, the houses on either side were undamaged.

"Come on," he said to Phil and led the way. He looked around for the officer keeping a record of everyone who entered the scene but no one was around, nor was there any crime scene tape. There wasn't anyone or anything to keep the nosy neighbours at bay. "Phil, get some tape from the car and put it across from that tree to that lamp post then stay here. Don't let anyone in without checking with me. And we need a note of everyone already here, police, fire, the lot. I'll get them to come and tell you. You put our names down for now."

"Right." He ran off to get the tape.

Andy went nearer to the ruined building and saw the fire crew rolling up hoses and generally preparing to leave. He told the leader to check with Phil Durrant before they left then walked over to the paramedics, inside the house. He recognised one of them.

"Geoff, what you got?"

"Oh hello, Andy. Three dead; man, woman and a kid about a year old. Looks like they were asleep when it happened." Three shrouded bodies lay close together on the ground. "There's one guy alive. Your mates have him round the back." The paramedic nodded towards the other side of the back wall. "Not a scratch on him, bit suspicious that."

"Yeah. Look, make sure you and your opppo check in with my partner by the tape before you leave."

"Will do."

Andy left them and walked gingerly over the rubble. As he went he realised something was wrong and stopped, looking round. The place looked like an explosion but it didn't smell like it. There was no smell of burning. Didn't make sense. Oh well, the fire investigator would sort that out but he would remember to put it in his own notes. Taking care, he skirted the back wall and saw a small huddle of people in what had been a garden. He recognised Sam Keltie and Jock MacDougall, both had transferred in a month or so ago; they were shielding someone sitting on the ground. Coming closer, Andy joined the huddle and looked down.

"Bloody hell, should have known it would be something to do with you lot!" he exclaimed.

"You know him?" asked Sam, looking across.

"'Cos I bloody do," said Andy disgustedly. The man on the ground looked at him strangely.

"Who is he? We found him wandering about. He's not burnt or anything and the neighbours say he didn't live here. Thought he might have something to do with this, set the bomb maybe." Sam was a good copper but loose lipped. He never should have said all that in front of a suspect.

"What do you mean, 'who is he'? Haven't you asked him? More to the point, why hasn't he told you?" Andy looked down again. The man had been usually quiet.

"I can't remember." The man spoke for the first time. "You know me?" Andy looked at his colleagues who nodded and shrugged at the same time.

"You're Captain Jack Harkness."

"Who?"

* * *

_How will Jack - and the team - cope?_


	2. Chapter 1

_Jack meets some team members..._

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**Who?**

Chapter One

The mobile rang at all hours of the day and night since his girlfriend had joined Special Ops. Rhys Williams objected to being pulled from sleep to answer the irritating thing while she was singing in the shower oblivious. It was his day off and he'd been looking forward to a lie-in, fat chance now. He picked up the mobile and read the display: Andy.

"Hello?" he said gruffly.

"_Gwen?" _

"Hardly. She's in the shower. What do you want, Andy, she doesn't work with you any more." Rhys lay back on the bed, on Gwen's side, and smelt her flowery perfume on the pillow.

"_I need to speak to her, Rhys. It's urgent." _

"Hold on." Reluctantly, Rhys got out of bed and padded to the bathroom where the shower had just been turned off. "Gwen," he said, opening the door of the cubicle, "it's that twat Andy Davidson for you. Says it's urgent, which it bloody better be, this time in the morning." He thrust the mobile at her, aware the man on the other end of the line would have heard him, and walked back to bed.

"Thanks, love," called Gwen, stepping out of the shower cubicle. She stood naked, dripping water onto the bathroom floor. "Andy, what's up?" She grabbed a towel and tried to wrap it round her one handed.

"_Found your mate Mulder at the scene of an explosion. House gone up, three killed." _

"Is he all right?" She had asked the question without thinking. Of course he was all right, he couldn't die.

"_Not a scratch on him, which is bloody strange in itself. Thing is, he doesn't know who he is."_

Gwen missed a beat. "What?" The towel dropped unnoticed to the floor.

"_Lost his memory or so he claims. He's going to be taken in for questioning if you don't get here pretty fast and claim him." _

"I'm on my way. Where is he now?" Her mind was racing even as she reached for the towel again and began drying herself.

"_In the back of my police car outside 43 Bishopston Road, out in Ely."_

"Thanks, Andy. I'll be twenty minutes."

She ended the call and quickly got dried and dressed. She shoved her wet hair into a bunch and prayed she wouldn't get pneumonia as a result. Grabbing her bag and her keys she was out of the flat in less than five minutes. It was only when she was in the car that she remembered she had not said goodbye to Rhys; she'd call him later. With her comms earpiece in, she called Owen as she drove through the early morning traffic.

"_This better be good, Cooper,"_ came over the comms in Owen's acerbic cockney voice.

"It's Jack. Apparently he's lost his memory. I don't know all the details but I want you in the Hub ASAP to check him over when I get him there."

"_Lost his memory!?" _

"That's what I've been told. Look, call the others in, we may need them." She cut the connection and concentrated on her driving.

She arrived at Bishopston Road within the promised twenty minutes and saw the burnt out house immediately. She slowed and found a parking place then jogged to the scene. Three police cars were parked haphazardly and she spied the coroner's wagon behind them. Andy was talking with a colleague and did not see her approach so she took a moment to survey the damaged building. It certainly looked like an explosion had occurred with resulting fire. The water pooling in the remains was evidence the fire brigade had been here.

Turning she looked into the parked police cars and spotted Jack immediately. He was sitting quietly in the back of one of them, looking round idly. His gaze rested on her and moved on before coming back and staying there. As she watched, he started to smile and she smiled back.

"Gwen, you made it then."

She jumped as Andy came up behind her. "God, don't do that!" Gwen put a hand to her breast and waited as her heart rate returned to normal. "I think Jack recognised me," she said, looking back at her boss.

"Let's go and see." They walked to the car and Jack, who was still looking their way, smiled more broadly but stayed in the vehicle. Andy opened the car door. "Here's someone to see you," Andy said to Jack. He stood with forearms resting on the top of the open door.

"Well, hello," said Jack, still beaming at her. He made to get out of the car, glancing at Andy for permission; he had been told to stay inside. Seeing Andy nod, Jack continued the movement and stood up. He was dressed in shirt and trousers, a smear of blood and some dust on the shirt the only sign he'd been at the scene of an explosion. His greatcoat was folded neatly on the back seat of the car. "And who are you?" he asked.

"What?" Gwen's face fell. She had been so sure Jack had recognised her. "Don't you know me?"

"No but I'd like to." He moved closer, the grin remaining. "I'm Jack … apparently."

"You are. You're Captain Jack Harkness. My boss." Gwen watched but it seemed none of this made any impact on Jack who stood close to her, eyeing her up and down. "Jack!" she protested, feeling him undress her with his eyes. He did not stop. Taking a step back, she tried again. "I'm Gwen, Gwen Cooper. We work for Torchwood." Still nothing.

"Gwen, what a pretty name and what a pretty accent." Jack stepped forward, closing the gap she had created. "And I'm your boss? Does that give me privileges?" he leered.

She slapped his face. "No, it does not!" She turned to Andy, "Okay if I take him?"

"Sure you want to?" He had straightened and prepared to intervene if Jack tried anything on. Andy had loved Gwen for years but it was not reciprocated. She had preferred that fat lummox Rhys and while Andy accepted her choice, his feelings hadn't changed.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be okay." She put a hand on Andy's arm and smiled her reassurance too. "We may need to take over here," she gestured to the house, "can you do the necessary?"

"I suppose. Okay if the fire investigator carries on?"

"Yep, good idea. Thanks, Andy." Facing Jack again she said, "You're coming with me."

"Wherever you lead, I shall follow, sweet Gwen." Jack was still grinning, standing in familiar pose with his hands in his pockets. The slap had not deterred him one little bit.

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Come on then." She took a few paces and he followed.

"Hang on," called Andy, "don't you want this?" He held up the abandoned greatcoat.

It was at that moment that Gwen truly believed Jack had lost his memory. That coat was a part of him, he wore it everywhere and she would not have been surprised to find he slept in it. If he had left it behind then he genuinely did not know who he was. She looked at him now and he was totally disinterested in the coat, looking from Gwen to Andy in detached confusion.

"Yes, thanks," said Gwen, taking the coat and hanging it over her arm. "Come on," she said to Jack and the pair walked to her car.

The ride to the Hub was one of the strangest she had ever had, which after over a year with Torchwood said a lot. Jack sat beside her, looking at the streets as they crawled through the rush hour traffic. He was quiet now following a few more put downs from Gwen when he had tried his cheesy chat up lines on her.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked, glancing over at him. They were stuck at traffic lights and not going anywhere for a while.

"In a car with you, sweet Gwen." He smiled at her. "Other than that, no idea." He seemed cheerful but inside he was not. The policeman and this woman seemed to know him and he really had no choice but to go along with whatever they said - for now. If he didn't like what this Gwen had to say, well, he could always move on.

"You're in Cardiff, capital of Wales. That's in the UK which is .."

"In Europe. I know that! And this little ball of dust is Earth, crummy planet full of humans who are totally unaware of what is coming for them." He threw her a dirty look then stopped.

"You remember that then." She inched the car forward as the queue of traffic moved but the lights changed back to red before she got to the front.

"Yeah." He looked out of the windscreen, not seeing the florists' van in front of them. He did remember things, weird things. Things that couldn't be true. Spaceships? Other planets? That just couldn't be true.

"What's the last thing you do remember?" she pressed, at the same time wondering if she should leave this for Owen. He had more idea of how memory worked than she did and might pick up something she missed.

He began slowly. "I remember standing outside that house, the one that blew up. I was in the garden." Pause. "That's it, " he turned to her, "I don't remember anything else. Did I live there? Do I know those people that died?" His tone was concerned.

"You don't live there and I don't think you know – knew, the people." They were moving again, down Lloyd-George Avenue towards Mermaid Quay. "We're nearly there. Don't worry about it for now." She concentrated on her driving and beside her Jack fell silent, a small frown on his handsome features.

After parking, Gwen led Jack across the Plass to the Tourist Office. She had had to remind him to take his coat and he now held it over his arm obediently. He looked so wrong not wearing it that she almost asked him to put it on. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his head turn as he took in his surroundings. He was not overtly anxious but who knew what was going on in that convoluted mind. She opened the Tourist Office door and they went inside, Jack carefully closing the door after them.

"Gwen," nodded Ianto from behind the counter. He was watching Jack, obviously briefed by Owen.

Gwen watched the two men. If Jack knew any of his team, it would be Ianto. They had resumed their relationship after the hiccup caused by Jack's unexplained absence, she knew that much. Jack was looking round the Office, taking it all in but ignoring Ianto. It didn't look good.

"Jack," she said, getting his attention. "You know who this is?"

Jack looked over at her and then at the young man standing looking at him steadily. He was good looking, in a clean cut way, and he wore his suit well. "No. Who is he?"

* * *

_Oh no, he doesn't remember Ianto! Will he remember the others?_


	3. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter ..._

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Who?

Chapter Two

"I don't believe this. I work in a secret, underground base! This is so cool." Jack was standing near the foot of the steps leading up to the work area, head thrown back looking up and around him, twisting round to see everything. He had thrown the coat they kept thrusting at him on a semi-circular bench.

It was unbelievable, so out there it couldn't be true. After some kind of tension in the Tourist Office above, the cause of which Jack did not understand, Gwen and the young man had opened a door in what had appeared to be a solid stone wall then led him through a corridor and into a lift. To this place, a huge cavern that was dirty, grimy and dripping with water. What the hell was going on? He took a few paces into the vast space and peered into the pool of dirty water and up at the water tower.

"Is this the same as the one we passed in the plaza?" he asked, looking at Gwen.

"Yes. Come and meet the rest of the team." She had seen Toshiko and Owen watching them when her eyes had followed Ianto's retreating back; he had taken Jack's coat and was hanging it up, brushing dirt off it. She thought Ianto had taken Jack not knowing him hard although it was always difficult to read his stoic expression.

"Team? Do they work for me too?" Jack grinned like a little kid and bounded over to follow her up the stairs. He beamed at Toshiko, sitting at her desk watching him warily. "Well hello, pretty lady. What's your name?" He stood close, in front of her, looking down.

"Toshiko."

"Lovely name. Japan is a wonderful place, went there once." His face fell for a moment as he wondered how he knew that.

"Did you?" interrupted Gwen. "When was that then?"

Jack looked confused and shook his head. "Don't know." He shook himself and the smile was back. "But if I had met anyone as beautiful as you," he took Toshiko's hand and kissed it, "I'm sure I'd remember."

The woman smiled wanly and gently removed her hand. She was still recovering from losing Tommy Brockless and not in the best of shape to deal with a full-frontal assault by Jack Harkness.

"Give me strength," muttered Ianto, standing near Owen's desk. He had his hands in his pockets and looked really unhappy.

"Got a problem?" asked Jack, staring at him. "Are you two an item?" he asked, glancing from Ianto to Toshiko. "Am I stepping on toes here?

"No!" they said together.

Jack shrugged and looked over at the other person, a shortish man. "And who are you?" he asked, flirting again.

"Owen Harper, Doctor Owen Harper." Jack's expression changed, he looked puzzled and frowned as if he was trying to remember. "That mean something to you?" asked Owen. He'd not missed the flirting; Jack must have lost him memory if he was trying that on him! Owen wondered why Jack had sparked on his name, he'd be very surprised if he was the only team member Jack remembered.

"No, not you. Something though, something about … doctors."

Ianto snorted. "I should have known you'd remember him!"

"Him? What him?" Jack stared at the young man with the strange name. He looked really pissed off and it seemed he, Jack, was the cause. "Who are you talking about?" Jack pressed.

"Before we go into any of that, I'd like to examine you," put in Owen. "This way." He indicated the Medical Bay and Jack eventually took his gaze from Ianto and walked through the archway and down the steps. "Jump on the examination table," Owen encouraged.

Jack felt like an exhibit in a zoo. The two women were hanging on the railings above him and looking down as the doctor – why did that sound tantalisingly familiar? – examined him. This involved taking off his shirt and Jack was interested when he realised he didn't mind the women watching him topless. He had no modesty, not that he needed any; he had one great body. Various scanners were run across his manly torso, scanners that looked like nothing he had ever seen before but then … he had no idea if he would have seen medical scanners before anyway. It got boring sitting there, even with the audience, and he started to think about this team – only four, five with him – and what they might do down here in the bowels of the earth. A very strange set up indeed. His fingers idly played with the leather band on his wrist.

"Okay, you can put your shirt back on." Owen stepped away and fiddled with the scanners. The early results were coming back positive, this was Jack Harkness even down to that special something in his blood that confirmed he was still immortal.

"Do I have to? I think the ladies prefer me without it." He smirked at his audience. They didn't look too impressed but then women always played hard to get. Besides, if they thought he was just sex-mad maybe he'd gain a bit more time to work out what was going on and whether he wanted to stay here.

"Put it on, you wanker," said Gwen. "Owen, how long before your tests are done?"

"Ten minutes maybe."

"Okay, meeting in fifteen." She walked off, hand to her ear. "Ianto, we're going to meet in the Conference Room in fifteen minutes. Meet us there and maybe bring some coffee, yeah?"

Toshiko walked with her, back to her desk. "I'll carry on checking the logs and the police and fire reports about the explosion," she said, putting on her glasses. "Jack was there responding to a Rift spike."

"Was he?" she said thoughtfully.

Gwen's mind was racing as she considered their next moves. She had fallen back into being leader without any difficulty. The few weeks Jack had been back had been full of incident, and she was not sure the team would have coped without him, but she felt confident the others would pull together under her leadership to sort out the current situation. She went to her own desk for some much needed thinking time.

Jack, released by the doctor and abandoned by everyone else, wandered back to the work area. He watched the Japanese woman – Toshiko, that was it - at her desk. She looked like she knew what she was doing so she must be the computer geek. Owen was obviously the medic. He was less sure what the other two did. Gwen seemed happy telling the others what to do so was she his deputy? But what was her role in the team otherwise? Unclear at present, he decided. The young man, Ianto his name was, was over the other side of the base, sitting at a desk in the corner with lots of papers around him. As everyone else was ignoring him, Jack walked down the steps and idly wandered around, always with the intention of seeking out Ianto.

"Did you want something?" asked Ianto when Jack got close. He had spotted him heading his way.

"No," said Jack, smiling, "just thought I'd look around. What do I normally do?" He leant against the young man's desk and read some of the papers on the desk. He was good at reading upside down, he found, and saw a red and black 'T' and the word 'Torchwood' heading most of the papers. Other than that they looked like reports and inventories.

Ianto looked up at him. He wondered how Jack was really feeling, whether he was as confident as he appeared. Probably not. More likely he was gathering information on them and the base and working out, with whatever memory he had left, what it all meant. He saw Jack's eyes roving the papers on the desk: yep, he was reading them.

"Not much," replied Ianto. "You sit in your office and watch the rest of us, when you're not sexually harassing us, of course. And if you want to read the papers, go ahead." Ianto stood abruptly and walked away.

"I have an office?" said Jack to the young man's back. That guy was seriously pissed off about something.

Taking up Ianto's offer, Jack sat at the desk and leafed through the papers. He read reports of a soldier from 1918 who had been sent back to his own time only days before, after being kept frozen for ninety years. And here was something about explosions and nuclear warheads. There were lots of mentions of a Rift too – capital 'R'. What the hell did this Torchwood do? Jack ran over what he had been told and none of it made sense. Then something Ianto had said, just before he went off in a huff, came back to him. He had said Jack sexually harassed 'us'. Us, not them or anyone in particular. So Jack sexually harassed Ianto? He thought about this a bit more and smiled. The young man was making more sense to him now; he was pissed because he, Jack, had not flirted with him. Well, that could be put right.

"Jack." Gwen stood on the work area looking at the man sitting at Ianto's desk. "Oy, you!" she yelled, deciding he had forgotten his name again.

"You mean me?" Jack asked, having heard the shout – along with the rest of Cardiff, he thought.

"Come here." She beckoned him over and he got up and sauntered across, still trying to fit the pieces together. "We're going to have a meeting. This way."

Gwen led Jack through the tunnels to the Conference Room, aware of him looking round again, assessing and evaluating everything. She was convinced this was Jack, it was the sort of approach she would expect of him if he was in an unfamiliar situation. He was weighing the evidence. It was oddly reassuring to recognise this part of his personality. The others were waiting for them and she took a seat beside Owen.

Jack hung back, not sure what he should do or where he should sit. The four other people ignored him, clearly expecting him to know where to go. Which was bloody annoying when they knew he had lost his memory. He decided to stay where he was until one of them noticed him and gave him some guidance. He waited several minutes.

"Are you all right, Jack?" asked Toshiko, looking up from her notes.

"Not really." His tone was abrupt, with none of the bonhomie he had used thus far, and it drew the attention of the other team members. Toshiko recovered first.

"I'm sorry, I suppose you don't remember being here before." She smiled and gestured to the head of the table. "That's your place. Ianto's put your coffee there ready."

"Thank you." He walked to the chair indicated and sat down. He reached for the mug and sipped the drink. It was hot and refreshing and he drank some more with pleasure. "Industrial strength, just as I like it," he said without thinking. He saw the rest of them looking at him strangely. "What?" he asked and then he realised; he remembered the coffee.

* * *

_Next time, Jack learns more about his team._


	4. Chapter 3

_The team discuss what happened to Jack …_

* * *

**Who?**

Chapter Three

"Owen, let's hear from you first." Gwen got the meeting started, sitting back in her chair with her coffee mug cradled in her hands.

"Okay, cutting to the chase, he's definitely Jack Harkness." Owen used the remote to bring up various slides and computer generated readings. "Blood, brain scan, the whole kit and caboodle prove he is Jack." He stopped and looked round at them.

"So why doesn't he know that?"

"Don't know for sure. Memory's a funny thing and can be affected by all sorts. In this case, it's a pretty sure bet it was the explosion. And before you ask, I have no idea when or if his memory will come back."

"Thanks for telling me so tactfully," said Jack dryly. There was moment's pause while the others looked round, embarrassed.

"What's the protocol on lost memories? Should we tell Jack anything or not?" asked Gwen, moving the discussion along.

"No harm in answering his questions, might trigger the whole lot coming back. He ought to be shown around too, familiar places may help," replied Owen.

"Good, thanks, we'll do that. Anything to help you, Jack." She smiled at her boss before turning to Toshiko. "Tosh, what do we have on the explosion?"

"I'll start at the beginning. There was an alert at five forty five this morning, medium spike. Jack was here, of course, and he went to investigate, seemingly on his own. From CCTV, I've tracked Jack to his arrival in Ely and to 43 Bishopston Road. It's covered by CCTV because there's been a lot of vandalism in recent years and the Neighbour Watch raised the funds," she explained. "He was there around six fifteen, parked the SUV round the corner in Penally Road – it's still there."

"Didn't think of that," remarked Gwen. "We'll have to go and get it."

Toshiko flicked the remote and showed grainy images of a residential street and a row of houses. The figure of Jack, wearing his greatcoat, was clear in the foreground. He stood for several minutes looking at the houses and taking readings on his wristband before concentrating on number 43.

"At six twenty nine," said Toshiko, talking over the images, "Jack walked round the house. He had moved to the back, out of sight of the camera, when four minutes later the house exploded." The screen showed a brilliant white light and then static. "The blast blew the camera's circuits so there's no more coverage." She turned the screen off and looked at her notes. "The police arrived ten minutes later with the fire brigade and ambulance. They put out the resulting fire, although from reports it seems it was a very concentrated blast. It certainly didn't reach as far as the next door houses. The bodies of Mary and James Ingalls and their daughter Sophie were recovered from the scene. James was a teacher at a local school where Mary also worked, She was currently on extended maternity leave at home with the baby."

"Any readings on the explosion?" asked Owen.

"Nothing definite, we need to get out there and check. From what we've got so far, I'd say it was alien."

Jack had listened attentively to Toshiko and watched the images of him - well, he supposed it was him – on the plasma screen. There were things he hadn't understood. Like how this petite woman had all this information at her fingertips. And the reference to an alert, which seemed to have been the cause of him being out there in the first place, had made no sense. These he had let go to be pursued later but he could not let the last one pass by without comment.

"Alien!? What are you talking about?" he demanded, looking round.

Toshiko looked first at him and then at Gwen and Owen. (Jack noted that Ianto seemed to be ignored and filed that away too.) "That's what we do, what Torchwood does. We fight aliens." Jack stared at her, open mouthed.

"It's true," added Gwen. "Torchwood is a secret organisation that monitors the Rift and …"

"Rift? What is this Rift?" asked Jack, now directing his stare at her.

"It's a Rift in space and time. Aliens from other worlds or sometimes just their possessions slip through it and end up here. We … deal with them." Explaining this to Jack was so strange. Gwen remembered when he had explained it to her, at a bar in the city after she had discovered Torchwood. Jack looked as disbelieving now as she had been then.

"Let me get this straight. Aliens, beings from other worlds, come to Cardiff and we 'deal' with them? How?" As strange as this was, Jack was piecing this new information together with the earlier flashback he had had, in the car, about spaceships and other worlds. Was it linked in some way? Did they have a spaceship and go to these other worlds – through this Rift perhaps?

"Any bloody way we can!" answered Owen.

"Peacefully, if we can," Gwen clarified. "We send them on their way or, if necessary, we lock them in the cells. The really dangerous ones … we kill."

"With your laser guns?" joked Jack.

"No, ordinary guns," replied Gwen patiently. "Like the one you've got in that holster." She nodded towards the holster on his hip.

Jack looked down, not having noticed it before. Curiously he opened the flap and saw the Webley inside. He didn't take it out, just looked at it for a moment and then closed the flap. He was armed and they had known it, had allowed him to carry a gun when they could have removed it. These people trusted him a lot more than he trusted them. That gave him a lot to think about. As for the stuff about aliens, that may or may not be true though they certainly believed it.

"So, I'm an alien hunter."

"That's right." Gwen turned her attention back to the meeting. "Owen, Tosh get out to Ely and examine the house. Check for alien activity and bring back the SUV. I'll check with the police and see what more they've got. Ianto, could you look after Jack? Show him around?" She smiled apologetically and was relieved to see him nod agreement. "Thanks, sweetheart."

Owen and Toshiko stood up and left quickly, bickering about whose car to take to Ely. Gwen looked at Jack. "We're going to find out what happened, Jack, and we'll get your memory back, don't worry. Ianto will show you the rest of the Hub, maybe something will be familiar" She smiled as she stood.

"One more thing. Did I cause the explosion?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," she answered honestly and left the room.

Jack sat back, going over all he had learnt. Every scrap of knowledge was precious and he reviewed it now, not sure how much of it he believed. He was Captain Jack Harkness, leader of a team of four people who monitored this Rift and caught aliens that dropped through it. They worked from this underground base – Hub, Gwen had called it – in Cardiff. He had memories of space travel and, yes, a doctor was involved in that somehow. Not this doctor, not Owen, some other doctor whose face he couldn't quite see. But he didn't think that had anything to do with the job, with Torchwood. The memories seemed separate and … long ago?

And another thing, he thought, forcing himself to face it; he may have caused an explosion that killed three people. He had not liked the way Gwen just accepted he might have been responsible, no shock or horror at the thought. So in addition to all the rest, he was also capable of … murder? Execution? What kind of man was he? He decided to shelve that question until he had more information.

What else did he know? He was handsome, no doubting that, and liked to flirt (with men as well as women) and that reminded him of Ianto, who was currently gathering the coffee mugs and tidying away stray papers.

"Ianto, what am I a captain of?" Jack asked, starting with a simple question.

"It's your RAF rank."

"Oh, so I fly airplanes." Another piece of the puzzle. Had he been an astronaut too? "How did I end up here, fighting aliens?"

"Long story and you've never told us all of it." Ianto was now standing with arms crossed looking at Jack. He was trying to be friendly but it was hard when the man who had only just mended Ianto's broken heart was breaking it again. "You want the tour?"

"Please." He jumped up and smiled broadly at the young man. There was still something bugging this guy, something seriously wrong between them and he meant to fix it. "What do you do here? I figure that Toshiko does the technical stuff and Owen is the doctor obviously, but no idea about you and Gwen." He relaxed and put his hand in his pockets, maintaining the smile despite the frown on Ianto's face.

"Gwen is your second in command. She liaises with the police and assesses information from them and other sources to see if we need to get involved. And she does research. She was a policewoman so is good at interviewing witnesses and victims. I look after the Hub."

"What does that mean?"

"I clean up and make coffee, order in food. And I feed the inmates in the cells." And the rest, he thought, but decided not to say. He did a lot of tasks the rest of the team knew nothing about and one of them had just sprung to mind. With Jack's memory gone, Ianto was the only one that knew about the facility on Flat Holm island. He'd have to check if anything needed to be done.

"Can I see?" asked Jack.

"See what?" Ianto had forgotten what he had last said, lost in other thoughts.

"The inmates in the cells. Show me an alien." Jack grinned to show he was not being serious.

"All right."

Ianto led Jack through the labyrinth of tunnels and emerged in the extensive archives. Jack stopped him and they spent some time talking about the records, Ianto even took out some of the harmless artefacts to show him. When Jack had had enough of that, the two men continued to the cells. There were few residents, only three Weevils and a Hoix but that was enough. Jack was fascinated and stood watching them for ages as Ianto prepared their food, bombarding the young man with questions about the creatures.

"I need to feed Myfanwy now," said Ianto.

"Who's she?" Jack's eyes were alight with unfeigned enthusiasm which Ianto found reassuringly familiar.

"Something a bit different." Ianto picked up a bucket of fish. "Come on." They walked back to the lower level of the Hub where Ianto looked up and whistled.

The Pteranodon swooped out of its nest and circled the upper reaches of the Hub. To Jack's stunned amazement, it dropped down and its circles grew smaller, focussed on him and Ianto. The Welshman took a fish and threw it into the air where the creature caught it, swallowing it whole. More fish followed until the bucket was empty. With a final cry, the Pteranodon circled once or twice and then retreated to its nest.

"Oh wow, that was great!" Jack was ecstatic. He beamed at Ianto who smiled back, amused at his boss's exuberant response. Without thinking, Jack flung his arms round Ianto and kissed him.

* * *

_How will Ianto react? What have the others found out? Next chapter coming tomorrow._


	5. Chapter 4

_The team investigates …_

* * *

**Who?**

Chapter Four

The remains of the house at Bishopston Road looked no better in real life than they had on the CCTV images thought Toshiko as she walked round the rubble that had once been a family home. The brick and concrete structure was still wet from its earlier dousing by the fire brigade and she was careful as she walked about, eyes trained on her scanner. On the other side of the mound of debris, Owen was sifting through some of the possessions that had been thrown every which way by the blast. He straightened, looking at an object in his hand but then threw it back down.

"Anything?" Owen asked as he skirted round towards her.

"There's residual neutrino energy, concentrated around this spot." She checked against a plan of the house. "It was the kitchen, here at the back. I should say whatever it was exploded out towards the road and up. That's why the back wall is still standing."

"Not natural then?"

"Definitely not. Interestingly, that policeman friend of Gwen's spotted that. He put in his report that the place didn't smell of burning and it doesn't." Toshiko glanced up. "He did well to notice that."

"Or got lucky." Owen's opinion of the local police officers was low to subterranean. He kicked at a half melted kettle and it rattled as it rolled. "Need anything more here?"

"I want to check this area again." She move gingerly over the loose scree and almost fell as her foot slipped. Owen was beside her immediately, holding her arm to steady her. "Thanks," she said, smiling at him.

"What are we looking for?"

"Whatever it was that exploded. Neutrino energy is used by lots of races, usually in weapons, and finding some trace would help us work out what it was doing here."

"I thought it was random." Owen had stopped and was looking at her. "You mean these people might have been targeted?"

"Possibly. Or Jack was."

-ooOoo-

The coffee shop was not busy when Gwen pushed open the door. The earlier breakfast clientele had left and it was too early for the mid-morning shoppers wanting coffee. Three tables were occupied and Gwen spotted Andy Davidson immediately. He was at his favourite table towards the back, a table they had shared many times when they had been partnered together; he said there was more leg room. She mimed getting him a coffee and he nodded; the one he had been drinking was going cold.

Armed with the drinks and a couple of jam doughnuts, Gwen walked up to the table and sat opposite Andy. He still had on his uniform and fluorescent jacket; he looked bulky with all the equipment hanging from his belt and the Kevlar vest all officers now wore. "Here, just as you like it." She pushed the coffee towards him. "Thanks for meeting me, I know you'll be keen to get to your bed."

"That's all right. I'm on changeover, start days tomorrow." He bit into the doughnut and dribbled some jam down his chin.

"It's still good of you. You must be tired; I always was after a run of nights." She sipped her coffee, thinking back to her uncomplicated days as a police constable. They had been good times, made better by this man who had taken her under his wing and taught her a lot. She must not forget how much she owed him.

"So what do you want? Mulder got his memory back yet?" He grinned and slurped his coffee, wincing when it was too hot for comfort.

"No, he hasn't. I was wondering if you knew any more, about the explosion?"

"It's not ten o'clock yet, Gwen. Takes longer than that for the system to kick into gear. Besides, I thought you lot at Special Ops," he put heavy emphasis on the title, "had access to everything."

"I've read some of the reports, yeah, but that's not the same as your instincts. You've been a copper a long time, what's your opinion?" She looked at him over the rim of the coffee cup, a little flattery usually worked with Andy.

He looked back at her, knowing he was being manipulated. "Didn't seem natural to me, put that in my report. I've been to enough fires in my time and this one was wrong. Probably some spooky-doo stuff of yours. That was why Captain Jack was sniffing around, wasn't it?"

"We don't know. We know he went there but not what he found." Andy snorted, which Gwen took as humour. "Anything else strike you as particularly odd?"

"Not really. The family, Ingalls was their name, seem ordinary enough. They'd lived there for a couple of years and the neighbours liked them." He sipped his coffee and thought a bit harder. "Ely's not the best of places, that part of it anyway. Had a load of mindless vandalism in the past couple of years and reports of kids finding things."

"What kind of things?" Gwen got out the notebook she still carried, a habit drummed into her on her time on the force, and made a couple of notes.

"Not sure. One of the neighbours, older woman a few doors down, said her son found things in the garden and in the street. Always took them to James Ingalls. He was a science teacher at the comprehensive that the kid attended and he and the kid would look at them together." He laughed grimly. "She was upset that Ingalls always kept them, thought he might be doing her son out of some money."

"You remember her name?" Gwen had been scribbling notes as Andy spoke and looked up now.

"Not offhand. Hang on." He put down his coffee and reached into a pocket for his official notebook and flicked through it. "Here it is. Mrs Simmonds, number 26. Kid's name is Alfred. How can any mother call their kid Alfred in this day and age?" He shook his head and replaced the notebook.

"Thanks for that, could be useful." She smiled at him, a genuine wide smile and she saw him melt. It wasn't one of her best qualities, using people to get information, but you had to do what was necessary when working for Torchwood. She finished her coffee and made to get up.

"You off then?" he asked, hoping she'd stay for longer. He knew she was using him but when he got smiles like that he didn't mind. "You haven't eaten your doughnut!"

"Not hungry, you have it. Gotta go, sorry. I'll see you." She smiled again and walked out of the café. When she looked back through the plate glass front window, Andy had half the doughnut in his mouth and more jam down his chin.

-ooOoo-

For the second time that morning, Gwen pulled up in Bishopston Road. She found a parking spot closer to the ruined house this time and looked across at it as she locked her car. The crime scene tape fluttered in the breeze and a few neighbours and a radio journalist she recognised were gathered outside. A lone policeman was guarding the scene. She left them to it and went round the corner into Penally Road where Toshiko and Owen waited in the SUV.

"Thanks for waiting for me," she said, climbing into the front passenger seat. "I thought we could pool knowledge before I go and see this neighbour." She had called them after her chat with Andy and they'd agreed she should tackle Mrs Simmonds; she always got more out of people than the others. "Tosh, have you got anything more?" Gwen was sitting sideways in her seat so she could see Owen, who was beside her, and Tosh in the back.

"Not a lot. Owen and I found the seat of the fire and it was definitely alien. We found this," she held up an evidence bag with a piece of metal inside, "which should tell us what it was and the race that made it. There wasn't a huge amount of neutrino energy released so I'm expected it to be have been a small weapon or other device. Maybe a grenade, something like that."

"So something that a kid, finding it in the street, would pick up and examine?"

"Yes, easily. After your call, I checked our database and there's a pattern of items falling in this area. We've found a lot of minor ordnance ourselves and made it safe." Toshiko pushed her glasses back on her nose, an endearing habit. "And I also found that James Ingalls sold items to a market stall holder who's know for purchasing alien artefacts. Nothing big, items that small time collectors find intriguing."

"So he was stealing from the kid," put in Owen, his tone admiring.

"We don't know that," said Toshiko, glaring at him.

"I'll see what I can find out from the neighbour. Might try the kid as well, I should be able to speak to him when school breaks for lunch," said Gwen who had long given up on Owen; he always believed the worst of everybody.

"See if you can get a description of the items he found, especially recent ones. The grenades I've come across wouldn't stand much handling so I don't think Ingalls can have had it for long," put in Toshiko.

"That makes it easier. Okay, I'll go and see what I can find. You two going back to the Hub?"

"Yeah, nothing more we can do here," replied Owen, "and the press are snooping around."

"I saw the radio reporter when I was parking," agreed Gwen. "I'll make sure I avoid her." She paused. "Do you think this clears Jack? That he had nothing to do with the explosion?"

"This was nothing to do with Jack," said Toshiko confidently. "I wondered if it might have been a targeted attack but that's complicating matters unnecessarily. The alert Jack responded to this morning must have been caused by a build up of energy in the grenade, or whatever it was, prior to it going off. He had located it in the kitchen but was unable to retrieve it before it blew up."

Gwen was relieved. When Jack had asked her if he had caused the explosion she had answered truthfully that she didn't know. Only later had she realised how it must have sounded to him, that she believed him perfectly capable of murdering a family including an innocent child. Of course he was capable of it, more than capable, but only if there was no other option. No other way to save a much greater number of people. She regretted not having explained that to him; she would do so when she got back to the Hub.

"That's good to know. I'll see you two back at the Hub. Owen, see if you can help Jack with his memory."

"If I have to," he agreed, pulling a face.

Gwen got out of the vehicle and started walking back to Bishopston Road. A few seconds later the SUV shot past her, Owen's driving only slightly less erratic than Jack's, followed a minute or two after by Toshiko in her own car, driving much more sedately.

* * *

_We're back in the Hub next time, where Jack gets some memories back. (And yes, Ianto will be in the next chapter, promise!)_


	6. Chapter 5

_Jack remembers and Owen tries to help. _

* * *

**Who?**

Chapter Five

The Hub was quiet. Jack was alone, sitting in what he'd been told was his office staring at the wall and thinking. He had a lot to think about.

After impulsively kissing Ianto, a kiss which had been returned with interest, he had thought the young man would become more friendly. Not so. When Ianto had realised that Jack still didn't remember him, he had withdrawn again. He had been polite but distant and after showing him to this office he had retreated to the Tourist Office upstairs. Jack couldn't fathom that out. There was no denying the Welshman had enjoyed the kiss – as had Jack – so why the cold shoulder afterwards? Hadn't Jack made up for not flirting with him before?

Putting that to one side, Jack had rifled through the papers on the desk which was supposedly his. They were like those he had already seen, notes on cases and reports, reinforcing the alien hunter idea but they didn't spark any memories. He had then gone through the desk drawers one by one. Nothing here either, until he came across a small tin box of photographs. They were all of him but he was in period costume and he laughed out loud at the stupid poses. The wedding one was a bit more worrying; was he married? The cache supported the theory that these people knew him, that he belonged here but he was still not wholly convinced.

Finally, he had turned to the PC on a stand behind him and turned it on, surprised when it allowed him access without a password. He navigated through folders and files but they were full of alien encounters and other than a general interest in the descriptions of the aliens, he found them boring. Leaving the PC, he had explored the filing cabinets and a cupboard which was locked up tighter than anything he had yet seen in this place. Was this where they kept the really secret stuff? Made sense.

With nothing left to look at, he had returned to the desk and sat with his feet on it. He was going over that last memory. He was in the garden of the house. There was a lawn with a strip of earth round three sides filled with straggly bushes and a few tatty flowers. Running along the back of the house was a paved area; a couple of plastic chairs and a table were arranged there. He remembered standing by the chairs, looking at readings on … his wrist strap. Jack straightened up, swinging his feet down. That was new and he kicked himself for not picking up on it when he had seen the CCTV footage earlier. Now, he looked at the wrist strap properly and opened the flap on top.

Images and feelings flooded his brain and he was forced back in his chair by the force of them. Movement, disorientation and darkness; co-ordinates; strange worlds; aliens; that doctor; pain, horrible pain; a blonde girl; a fish in a suit; this office but different, old; a green alien in a human body; a blond man, red jacket, in a hologram; two old fashioned women. Jack closed his eyes to shut them out but they kept coming until he could take no more and he put his hands to his head. He was screaming.

That was how Owen found him. He went to him straightaway and held his shoulders, knowing they had been foolish to leave Jack with Ianto. Tea-boy was obviously having problems being round Jack and shouldn't have been left alone with him for an extended period. Jack was clinging to Owen, head resting on his chest. He had stopped screaming, for which Owen was grateful, but was shaking uncontrollably. It took him a good five minutes to calm down and release Owen.

"Tell me what happened," said Owen, drawing up the visitor's chair and sitting knee to knee with his boss.

"There were … All these images, I …."

"Take your time, no rush. Want some water?" At Jack's nod, Owen got up and went to the fridge in the work area and grabbed a couple of bottles. He strolled back, giving Jack more time to compose himself. Back in the office he sat down and handed over a bottle. "Here."

"Thanks."

"I take it some of your memories came back." Owen swigged from his water bottle and watched Jack drink thirstily, downing half the bottle in one go.

The other man nodded. "Yeah, with a vengeance." Jack managed a weak smile. "It was like my life was flashing before my eyes. All colour and images and such strong feelings." He drew in a deep breath. "None of it made any sense."

"That's okay, don't try to force it into any kind of order, not yet. Just getting this far is a good sign. What started it off?"

"I was going over my last memory, of that house. I could see it really clearly and I remembered using this." He looked down at the wrist strap, the flap still open. He paused, bracing himself for more images but none came. "When I opened it up to look at it – that's when it happened."

"Want to talk about the images?" Owen asked, tentatively. He saw Jack tense and immediately put a reassuring hand on the man's knee. "It's okay, mate, you don't have to. But if there are any you want to talk about just sing out. I bet there were a lot of strange ones, kind of work we do." He laughed to lighten the atmosphere, to give Jack a bit more time.

Jack laughed too, just a bit. "A few. There was one, it was really weird."

"Try me."

"It was fish walking around in a suit!" Jack was shaking his head with the absurdity of the notion.

"Red and orange was it?" asked Owen conversationally.

"Yeah," replied Jack slowly. "No, no it can't be real!" he protested.

"'Fraid so. We call 'em Blowfish. Had one a few weeks back, was driving around in a little red sports car." Jack was looking at him open-mouthed, not sure if he was joking. "It's true. They come here, steal cars and get high on drugs."

"So that memory is real?" Jack decided to accept it for now though he was not convinced. "What about the spaceships and other planets, they real too? Do we go out and patrol the galaxy?"

Owen was taken aback. He had long suspected that Jack was not from Earth, or at least not from this time, from the things he said and the way he reacted to events. This was proof; Jack had been out among the stars in spaceships. Intriguing. "No, we don't but doesn't mean they're not real."

"What?"

Owen leant forward until his head was close to Jack's. "Look, mate, there's a lot we don't know about you. You're a secretive son of a bitch and don't say a lot about your past but, well, I think you probably have been out there, in space, at some time or the other. I may be wrong but if these images you're getting are muddled in with the others I know are true then," he shrugged, "odds are the space ones are true too."

Jack stared at him. He barely knew the man but Jack's instincts were that Owen was telling the truth, that he, Jack, had travelled in space. That was ludicrous, wasn't it? And yet … Somehow the idea didn't feel ludicrous, it seemed possible even likely. But where was the sense in it? If he was an astronaut, where was his spaceship? Seems it wasn't anywhere around here or Owen would know about it – bit difficult to hide it, unless it was invisible. An image of a large clock face flittered across his mind and of the blonde girl and of them dancing. When he tried to hang on to it, the image was gone.

"My advice, Jack," said Owen, "is don't worry about it. Don't try too hard to remember and it'll all come back to you. You getting these flashbacks really is a good sign." He patted Jack's knee and pushed back his chair.

"But I need to know what they mean. Is there no one who can help make sense of them? One of the others maybe?"

"You can always run them by me, no sweat, but your best bet? That's Ianto. You and he, let's just say you're close." Owen hesitated but then decided to go ahead and ask, "You got any memories of him? Not that I want you to share!" he added hastily.

Behind them the door alarm sounded and Owen looked up to see Gwen walk in; Toshiko was already at her desk, she must have come in via the lift for him not to have heard her. Jack had swung his chair round to see what was happening and then looked back at Owen.

"Are you saying that Ianto and I are …" he let the thought hang in the air.

"Oh yeah but it's complicated. Let's just say that you went missing for a while and left him hanging. You've only just got back together again."

"That explains a lot." Jack was quickly putting together the pieces; Ianto's hurt at not being recognised, his reluctance to be with Jack, his response to the kiss and then the retreat upstairs. "Thanks for telling me."

"Hey, better you know." The door alarm sounded again and Owen saw Ianto come in with pizza boxes. "Great, lunch is here. Come on, let's get something to eat."

The two men walked out into the work area where Ianto had put the pizza boxes on the coffee table. Gwen and Toshiko were going through them, both women hungry after the early start to their day. They sorted out the pizzas and took their own. Owen found his and passed one of the remaining two to Jack who took it. He watched the others settle at desks and on the sofa and wondered if he should stay or take the food back to his office.

"Jack, come sit by me," called Gwen from the sofa. "Any joy with the memory?"

"Actually, yes." He smiled and joined her on the battered sofa, opening the pizza box and taking out a slice; the smell was making him hungry. "I was telling Owen about some flashbacks. He tells me they're real." Jack's expression said he was none too sure himself.

"Can you believe it, the thing Jack remembers is the Blowfish!" Owen chortled and the others joined in.

"That thing!" said Toshiko with a shudder. "It gave me the creeps."

"That one's real, mores the pity," confirmed Gwen, chewing on her food. "Any other memories?" She smiled up at Ianto as he put coffee mugs on the table.

"This place, my office particularly, but different. It was old fashioned, Victorian maybe, with wooden doors and there were two women in long dresses and knickerbockers. I don't think they liked me." He smiled round at them, sure that this memory was false.

"Sounds like Alice and Emily," said Ianto from his place standing by Toshiko's desk. "They were operatives here in the 1900s."

Jack looked at him, disbelief written all over his face. "You're having me on. How the hell could I remember that!?"

"You were here then. You're immortal." Ianto was looking at Jack, wanting to see how he reacted to the news, wanting to hurt him. To pay him back for the false kiss and for not remembering him!

Jack stared at Ianto, the slice of pizza in his hand dripping grease onto his trousers unnoticed. "I'm what?"

* * *

_Oh no! How will Jack react? Next chapter coming soon._


	7. Chapter 6

_Owen loses his temper …_

* * *

**Who?**

Chapter Six

"What the hell's got into you, Ianto!?" stormed Owen. He had dragged the taller man out of the cog door and waited until it had shut behind them before speaking. "Jack's got enough to cope with without you sticking the knife in!"

"You said we should tell him things." Ianto projected a calm image but inside he was trembling. He knew he'd gone too far.

"I said we should answer his questions! Not volunteer pieces of information like ' Oh by the way, you're fucking immortal'!" The quote was delivered in a creditable Welsh accent. "What the hell were you thinking about!?"

"He deserves to know."

"He deserves to be treated with bloody respect! Is this because he doesn't remember you? Is that it?" Ianto flinched at the words and Owen cursed long and fluently. "You bastard! Kick a man while he's down, why don't you!?" Owen paced up and down in the small space at the foot of the stairs. "Not half an hour ago that bloke was screaming because of the memories he's getting back. Screaming! When was the last time you heard Jack bloody Harkness scream? And I don't need to hear about your love life! This is bloody hard for him and you go and throw him a curve ball like that?"

Ianto paled; he had not known that Jack had been upset. And he had never heard Jack scream, even in bed he took everything Ianto could do to him without screaming - in pleasure or pain. He must be in a bad way. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's not me you should be apologising to, fuckwit! Oh get out of my sight! If I see you again today it'll be too bloody soon. Go up to the Tourist Office and stay there." Owen opened the cog door and re-entered the Hub leaving a shattered Ianto to climb the stairs alone.

-ooOoo-

The pizzas lay abandoned. After Owen had stalked out pushing Ianto before him, the girls had tried to explain to Jack but were confusing him more than helping. "Are you telling me," he said, cutting across Gwen, "that I don't die?"

"No, you do die but then you come back again." He stared at her horrified. "Sometimes it's just a few minutes other times it's longer. It was three days once." He continued to stare.

"Jack, it's just part of who you are," began Toshiko. "We don't understand it and I don't think you do either, not fully. You've never told us where it came from, again I'm not sure you know."

The door alarm sounded and Owen came back into the Hub - alone. He joined the others and looked round at them. Gwen and Toshiko looked flustered and Jack was just staring ahead, not a good sign. A glance from Gwen told Owen that the girls had not been able to explain Ianto's revelation satisfactorily. Which was not surprising, considering they knew so little about it themselves.

"I've banished that twat Ianto to the Tourist Office. Jack, I'm sorry he blurted it out like that but as I'm sure Gwen and Tosh have told you, it is true. You don't stay dead."

"You're all mad, stark staring mad." Jack had decided that they had to be lying, no one was immortal. Everyone died, sooner or later, and he was no different. "You want me to believe this rubbish for some reason. In fact, thinking about it, I have no proof that you even know me, that all the other stuff you've told me is true. You kidnapped me and brought me here and now you're messing with my head!" Jack was standing, as close to hysterical as he could get.

"I think you should calm down, Jack," said Owen, moving closer. "It's been a rough day for you and it's only lunchtime. Just sit down, drink your coffee and we can talk." He put a hand on his boss's arm and pulled him gently back to the sofa. "That's right, sit down."

With Jack back on the sofa it grew quieter and the tension lessened. Toshiko and Gwen sat at the desks with Owen beside Jack. They all drank the coffee, which was still warm, and said nothing for a while.

"I'm sorry, went a bit crazy there." Jack smiled slightly. He had had time to think and realised they hadn't had time to falsify those photographs he'd found earlier; he belonged here with these people which made Ianto's revelation even harder to comprehend.

"Oh, Jack, it's all right, sweetheart." Gwen was up and hugging him in an instant. "You're among friends here, really."

"That's good to know." His arms were round her, enjoying the feel and smell of her. "And this is good too," he smirked, hands wandering.

"Get off!" she exclaimed, releasing him and sitting down again. "Can tell you're back to normal!" They laughed and that relieved the tension some more.

"You may like to hear what we found at the house," put in Toshiko, thinking the discussion might help him recover his emotional balance. "The explosion was caused by an alien device that released neutrino energy. This is part of it." She held up the evidence bag and handed it to him when he reached for it.

Gwen spoke up. "It wasn't your fault, Jack. Near as we can tell, you were outside the back door trying to get in to retrieve this thing before it went off but were just too late. I haven't told you all yet but I learnt something from the neighbour's son." She had their full attention. "The mother was a dead end, just ranting on about James Ingalls doing her boy out of money while still professing to say no ill of the dead. Bloody hypocrite. The boy, Alfie, told me a lot more. Apparently, he scavenged a lot of stuff around the estate and from his descriptions they're all alien. We should look into that sometime, Tosh."

"With the stuff we've found ourselves, this place is a definite hot spot. I'll plot the Rift activity, first chance I get." Toshiko turned to her PC and added a note to her tasks list.

"Thanks. According to Alfie, he found one or two items a month and always took them to Ingalls. They'd look at them together, in the kitchen, and if they thought it might be worth something, Ingalls took it to the market trader. But he gave the money to Alfie, usually five or ten quid a time but once it was thirty. Seems the boy is saving the money to buy some new trainers that cost a bomb."

"So Ingalls wasn't ripping the boy off," said Toshiko, looking at Owen. The doctor had the grace to look embarrassed. "Did the boy find anything recently?"

"Yes, he did." Gwen took out her mobile and flipped through the messages. "He and Ingalls looked at it last night, in the kitchen. Alfie took a picture of it, for his records – we may want to look at those – and this is what he found." She handed the mobile to Toshiko who looked at it while downloading it to her system.

"It matches the fragment we found. I don't recognise it but it could be Newok in design. What do you think, Jack?" Download complete, Toshiko handed the mobile across without thinking and only when he had taken it did she add, "Oh, sorry, you won't remember."

"Still like to look," he said with a smile. The photo showed an elliptical object, dark green with black markings. He compared it with the fragment he still held and a wisp of memory came back. "It's a Kattaran energy ball." He looked round at them, "I seem to remember the strangest things."

Gwen laughed and Toshiko swung round to her desk again and quickly accessed the database. She called up the description and sat back, a smile on her face. "You're right, that's just what it is. Well done." She beamed at Jack who felt like a dog who had performed a trick. She took back the fragment and compared it with the more detailed description on the screen.

Gwen accepted her mobile and put it away. "Could it have caused the explosion?"

"Oh yes, definitely. It uses neutrino energy and the readings match the ones that triggered the original alert Jack responded to this morning. It's directional and was obviously pointing towards the front of the house. Lucky for you, Jack."

"Thought I couldn't die," he joked lamely, the subject still a difficult one.

"You can't but it'd be a bit uncomfortable to wake up under a ton of rubble," pointed out Owen.

"I suppose." It was not something Jack wanted to think about right then; he'd rather forget about the whole matter but somehow he felt it wouldn't be that easy. The one thing he wanted to forget, he couldn't. "So those people died because of that piece of … space junk?"

"Yeah." The others sobered at the reminder that three people had lost their lives that morning. Owen broke the ensuing silence.

"If you don't need me for a while, the postmortems are being done this afternoon. I know the pathologist and he said I could sit in. Might be worth it, in case I can learn any more about the blast."

"Sounds like a good idea," agreed Gwen. "We can hold the fort here."

"All right with you, Jack?" Owen asked.

He smiled. "Thanks for the courtesy but I'm not in charge right now."

"I meant, will you be all right?" Owen stood, hands in his pockets looking down at the older man.

"I'll survive – anything by the sounds of it!" He laughed, attempting to put himself and the others at their ease.

-ooOoo-

An hour later and the Hub was quiet again. Owen had gone to watch the postmortems, Toshiko was lost in her work and Gwen had disappeared to the archives to find a file. On a mission, Jack sauntered past Toshiko and through the cog door. He didn't think she'd stop him but he'd rather not give her the opportunity. He took the lift up to ground level and walked back through the corridor. He wasn't sure he would find the back of the secret door but it was clearly marked with 'Fire Exit' which made him smile. Taking a deep breath he pressed the release button and walked through.

Ianto glanced over when the door opened and straightened when he saw who was coming through. He had assumed it would be Gwen again. She had already come up once to bawl him out and he was expecting another blast of her anger. Nothing was said as Jack walked fully into the Office, glanced around and then stopped in front of Ianto.

"Owen tells me you and I have a history together. I don't remember it and I don't remember you. I'm sorry, that's just the way it is. If that causes you a problem, just say so and I'll walk out that door and never come back." He gestured to the door leading to the outside. "But if you say stay, then I need you to help me not make a bad situation worse." He fixed Ianto with a steady gaze. "Your choice."

"Where would you go?" Ianto's voice was husky with emotion.

Jack shrugged. "Who knows? I'll find someone to take me in, have the feeling I'm that kind of guy." He turned and walked to the door only to find it locked.

"I didn't say I wanted you to go."

"Thought that was the way your mind was working," Jack was looking at him again, one hand still on the door handle.

"You're wrong. I want you to stay."

* * *

_Next time, Jack and Ianto talk and there's a Rift alert …_


	8. Chapter 7

_A chat and a Rift alert_

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**Who?**

Chapter Seven

They sat in chairs on the customers' side of the counter, a mug of coffee in hand, and talked. Having cleared the air, Ianto was doing his best to help Jack sort through the images that had come back to him. He was feeling stupid for his earlier actions. He was supposed to love Jack but had let him down when he needed help the most. Jack was injured and if the tables had been turned, Ianto knew Jack would have moved heaven and earth to help him. He had been a complete twat.

"It's pretty clear, Jack. You can remember more about what happened years ago than the last twenty or thirty years."

"Do you realise how strange that sounds? I don't look more than, what, thirty?" Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Okay, thirty five." Jack grinned then sighed. "I still can't believe I'm any older, not really, but I'll go along with it for now. How do you know about this old stuff?"

"I'm the archivist and I know everything." They laughed.

"How long have you been here?" Jack sipped his coffee and watched the young man. The light was creating shadows on his face adding contrast to what was otherwise merely conventionally handsome. He understood why he was attracted to him.

"Eighteen months, just about."

"And how long have we …" he raised his eyebrows.

"Been shagging? Started a year ago but then you … went away. We've only just got back together." Ianto put down his empty coffee mug, unwilling to look at Jack. It still hurt.

"Then I go and lose my memory and forget all about you! Great timing."

"Oh, we always had that," Ianto said ironically, smiling. "I fell in love with you while using you to care for my Cyberman girlfriend!"

Jack froze in place and the coffee mug fell from nerveless fingers to the floor. He could see huge metal men, a tall building, the Pteranodon and a woman wearing little but a metal bikini. Finally he saw Ianto, face down in the dirty puddle of water in the Hub and knew he was dead. He felt the horror of it all and started to shake. He opened his mouth to scream.

"Jack! Jack, it's okay, I'm here." Ianto was on his knees by the older man's side, his arms round his rigid body. "Jack, it's okay." The body relaxed suddenly and Ianto buckled with the weight but righted himself even as Jack regained control. "It's okay," repeated Ianto as Jack's head fell to his shoulder.

It was several minutes before Jack moved away from the embrace and sat back in his chair. He smile wanly. "Sorry. These flashbacks come out of nowhere and they just …"

"It doesn't matter." Ianto remained on his knees at Jack's side, a hand on the other man's back. "What did you see?"

Jack closed his eyes and the images were there again but had, thankfully, lost that initial overwhelming impact. He opened his eyes and looked at the young man. "Metal men. A tall building. A woman in metal. And you, I saw you lying dead."

"Were the men tall with square kind of antennae on their heads?" Jack nodded. "They're Cybermen and the building may have been Canary Wharf."

"The Battle of Canary Wharf! I remember it," Jack was elated at putting the pieces together himself.

"So do I, I was there." Ianto got up and moved back to his chair, gaining a moment to fight back the horror of that time.

"Was I there?" Jack's mind was racing and he failed to spot Ianto's distress. "No, I wasn't. I remember, I went there later to … to clear up. The woman, who was she?"

"Lisa Hallett, my girlfriend."

"She was here, down in the Hub. How did she get here? Doesn't matter. She attacked us, attacked me and you. She killed you." Jack looked at Ianto, "Why are you alive? Are you immortal too?"

"No, no I'm not. You kissed me, brought me back to life." Ianto's voice was soft and level, hiding the pain these memories were bringing back to the surface.

"I can do that!? Wow." Jack smiled delightedly and then saw Ianto's closed expression. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that. It's these memories, isn't it? What? Do they mean something?"

"I lost friends at Canary Wharf and I lost Lisa, the girl I loved. It's not a happy time."

"You're a master of understatement, Jones Ianto Jones." Jack put his hand on the young man's arm. "I'm sorry."

"That's something else you remembered." Ianto looked up and smiled slightly. "You called me 'Jones Ianto Jones'."

"Is that special?"

"It's how I introduced myself, when we first met. You call me that from time to time." The smile became more genuine.

-ooOoo-

Instead of bringing the file back to the main level, Gwen stayed in the archives to read it, sitting cross-legged on the floor. When she finally made it back to the work area she noticed immediately that Jack was missing. "Tosh, where's Jack?" Gwen was checking the Medical Bay as she spoke; no Jack.

"Um, not sure. He was here." Toshiko looked round, surprised. Seeing Gwen was irritated, she immediately added, "I'll check the CCTV."

Gwen sighed heavily and opened the comms. Was she the only one with a sense of responsibility in this place? "Ianto, have you seen Jack?"

"_He's here with me. You need him?" _

"No, not particularly. Just didn't know where he was." She paused then added, "Everything all right?"

"_Fine, thanks." _

"Good. If you felt like making a …" Her words were lost in the noise of a sudden alarm. She crossed to Toshiko's side. "Tosh?"

"Rift alert, a big one."

Toshiko was working furiously to pinpoint the site of the alert. Gwen stood at her shoulder knowing there was nothing she could do to help. The door alarm sounded and Ianto and Jack appeared, both looking anxious. They also ended up standing by Toshiko's desk, looking over her shoulder.

"It's in Rhiwbina, a small parade of shops," announced Toshiko. Ianto moved swiftly to Owen's desk to check police radio transmissions.

Gwen, seeing Jack's confusion, took a pace away from Toshiko, not wanting to distract her and he went with her. "It's a Rift alert, a big one. Soon as Toshiko gets a precise fix and we know what we're dealing with Ianto and I'll go out there," she explained. "Pity Owen's not here, it'll take him ages to get there." She tried her comms but the doctor was not responding. She fumbled for her mobile.

"I'll come with you. I must be able to help somehow," said Jack immediately. His instincts were telling him to go with them, not to let the two of them go alone.

"Without your memories, you won't be much use," said Gwen, ignoring the niceties for the direct approach. Owen wasn't answering his mobile either; she left a message on his voice mail.

"I don't need memories to help! My brain may be mush but the body works just fine." He grabbed her arm. "You need me out there, Gwen." He fixed her with his most determined stare and she weakened.

"All right, another body would be useful. But you stay back and do exactly what I tell you." She wagged a finger in his face to emphasis her words.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he replied, grinning. "I ever tell you I love an assertive woman."

"You never let up!"

"Whatever it is, and I can't tell precisely, it's in the newsagents on Beulah Road," said Toshiko urgently.

"The police are responding," Ianto added. "The locals have reported something in the shop. A large animal is how it's described."

"Okay. Ianto, break out the guns. You, me and Jack will go out there. Tosh, you stay here and keep track of it. I've left a message for Owen, he must be in the postmortems because his comms and mobile are switched off. When he calls in, tell him to meet us there." Ianto had returned with two guns and spare ammunition. He handed Gwen hers, keeping the other for himself; Jack still had his Webley strapped to his hip. "Let's go."

Jack and Gwen turned to leave and were down the steps before they realised Ianto wasn't with them. Gwen looked back, irritated, but then saw him running to catch up. He had Jack's greatcoat over his arm. Despite the urgency, she smiled.

"You'll need this," said Ianto, handing the coat to Jack, running with Gwen to the lift, Jack a pace or two behind.

"Why? It's not cold out there," were the last words Toshiko heard as the trio disappeared out of the door.

-ooOoo-

The SUV was having trouble getting through the late afternoon traffic. It was just after the end of the school day and all the mums and dads were out in their cars collecting their little darlings and ferrying them home, though it seemed even worse than normal. Ianto fumed as he hit jam after jam but no matter what he tried, he was forced to slow down. Gwen was in the passenger seat, pooling her local knowledge with Ianto's to try all the back ways that may get them to the scene as quickly as possible. Jack was silent in the back, watching the unfamiliar streets as they edged forward. It took them three quarters of an hour to reach Beulah Road where an ambulance with lights flashing rushed past them in the opposite direction. Ianto edged the SUV forward until he reached the first of the police cars.

"Stop here, we'll walk."

Gwen stood on the door sill to see over the obstructions. Emergency vehicles were parked over about a hundred metres and the road was cordoned off. Beyond that, there was little activity to be seen, only an occasional flash of a fluorescent jacket. Ianto and Jack were also out of the vehicle, their greater height giving them much the same view as hers.

"Let's go," she said, walking up between the vehicles and easing past residents gawping at the scene. At the cordon, they were stopped by the duty police officer who moved aside hurriedly when Gwen announced they were Torchwood. They walked through.

"Oh, I like that," commented Jack, smiling at the young policeman as they passed. "Do they always just roll over for us?"

"Pretty much. You frighten them," she added grinning.

"The newsagents is over there," said Ianto pointing to a row of five shops on the right. "Tosh, you got any more?" he asked into his comms.

"_Not on the creature, it's one we haven't come across before. It's in the shop still. Some customers and a couple of staff are trapped in a store room, only access is through the shop where the creature is. The police tried taking it down but without success. Four police officers were injured, one critically." _

Gwen's heart missed a beat. Was it one of her former colleagues? Was it Andy? No, she told herself, it can't be, he's off duty. Breathing more freely, she said, "Keep monitoring, Tosh, we're going in for a closer look. Any news of Owen?"

"_He called and is on his way but the traffic is heavy and holding him up. A power cut has caused havoc in the city centre."_ In her other ear, Toshiko was getting a running commentary from the doctor in which he used all the swear words he knew and a few he was making up on the spot.

"Tell him to get here as soon as he can; I think we're going to need him."

* * *

_Next time, things get a bit hairy for the team as they tackle the alien ...._

_Many thanks to those who have reviewed, so pleased you're enjoying the story._


	9. Chapter 8

_The team is responding to an alert ..._

**

* * *

**

**Who?**

Chapter Eight

Gwen left her comms open so Toshiko could hear what was happening. In a huddle of police officers, sheltering behind an ambulance, she recognised the man in charge. "Inspector Brooks. Torchwood." She held up her ID.

The middle-aged man turned and regarded her coolly. "You lot again. Well, this time I'm pleased to see you. You can have this one with pleasure." He looked over at Jack and Ianto then focussed on Gwen. "Just the three of you? You'll need more than that, this thing's big and mean."

"Just as we like them," said Jack, standing with hands in the pockets of the greatcoat that he was wearing to please the other two. He felt a right prat in it.

"We have reinforcements on the way," said Gwen smoothly, wondering if Owen really justified the description. "Where are the trapped people?"

"How do you know … No," he held up a hand, "don't bother. They're here." He pointed to a map on a clipboard. "We know the owner and his son are in there, they both work in the shop, but not sure on the customers." Gwen took the map from him without bothering to ask.

In her ear, Gwen heard Toshiko say, _"There are three customers, two older women and a fourteen year old boy. Their names are …" _

At that moment, the front window of the shop shattered as a large, free standing display unit was catapulted onto the pavement outside. A roaring followed, a cross between a bull and a lion. Everyone ducked out of the way of the flying glass. Jack eased out from the shelter of the ambulance and crossed to a nearby police car, crouching down behind it. From here he could see into the shop.

"Hello again," said a voice in Jack's ear. "Got your memory back, have you?" Jack recognised the police officer from the morning but couldn't remember his name. "Guess not. Andy Davidson," he supplied.

"Right, Andy. No I haven't, just helping Gwen anyway I can."

"What the fuck are you doing!?" said Gwen, joining them and making them scrunch up to give her some cover. "I told you to do what I said!" She looked past Jack and saw Andy. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Ah, incident. Rampaging beast. People in danger. Who you going call?"

"You're supposed to be off-duty," she hissed.

"Got called in, only live round the corner, remember? Everything's going bonkers in the city what with traffic and looters and they were running out of bodies to deal with this one." He thought grimly of Sam Keltie who had been taken to hospital and hoped he would recover.

"Nice as it is to catch up, don't you think we should do something about that?" Jack gestured towards the shop. The creature had moved into view, raising its arms above its head much like King Kong. That was the only resemblance to a gorilla or any other Earth creature. It was a sickly green, dripping with slime and over two metres high. It didn't really have a head, its eyes and mouth were set at the top of a solid body.

"Bloody hell!" said Andy in awe.

"Any idea what it is, Jack?" asked Gwen, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Nope. You don't know?" He was still staring at the shop even though the creature had retreated inside again.

She shook her head, concentrating on the comms. "Ianto, get the police to clear the street, now! Tosh, I need some help." She struggled to keep calm but the panic was only just below the surface.

Tosh's voice was still calm. She had the knack of becoming cool in a crisis, putting her feelings to one side until she had leisure to deal with them. _"I've got some readings but they're not as clear as I'd like. No match to our database yet."_

"How do we deal with it? What will stop it?" persisted Gwen. She was pleased to see the police officers moving the other emergency service personnel and gawking neighbours away from the scene; Ianto was behind the ambulance still, keeping a watchful eye on the shop and using his PDA to take whatever scans he could.

"_I'm working on it but I need more information. Can you get any closer?" _

"I'll try," said Ianto. He left the shelter of the vehicle and sprinted to the row of shops, pressing himself against the front of the one on the end, two down from the newsagents. He worked his PDA, inching sideways. A crash from inside the shop halted him and he crouched down, shielding the PDA with his body.

Behind the police car, Gwen and Jack watched helplessly as their colleague again inched towards the newsagents. "Tosh!?" said Gwen into the comms; a one word plea for information.

"_Give me a minute." _

"I'm not sure Ianto has a minute!" Gwen suddenly realised that Andy was still with them; he had not retreated with the other officers. "Andy, get the hell out of here!" she yelled at him.

"You might need a hand," was all he said, not looking at her.

"Obstinate bastard." She would enjoying Retconning him when this was over.

Beside her, Jack was watching the action in front of them. Ianto was now in front of the shop next to the newsagents; a chemist. Jack was exhilarated and frightened by what was going on here but his brain was strangely detached, analytical. He was turning over options, scenarios, assessing the best way to overpower the creature and rescue the trapped people. A plan was taking vague shape.

"_The creature is composed of a form of plastic, similar to bakelite," _came over the comms suddenly, breaking into his thoughts. _"If you can get it hot enough, it'll shatter." _

"How?"

"Set it on fire," supplied Jack. He was away even as he spoke, running to join Ianto. "In here," he said, ducking into the empty chemist's shop. After a quick glance round, Jack vaulted over the counter and into the partially blocked off pharmacy.

"What are you doing?" asked Ianto. He had stayed in the main body of the shop and was still using his PDA to gather information.

"Making a cocktail. I think I'll call it a Flaming Alien." He grinned his trademark grin as he ran back out to join the younger man. He was carrying two large flagons, one of a clear liquid the other blue.

"Will you never stay put!?" yelled Gwen while still keeping her voice low. She had sprinted across to join them; her face was like thunder. "What have you got there?"

"He's making cocktails," commented Ianto dryly.

"When these two are mixed together they ignite." Jack indicated the flagons in his arms. "That should give off enough heat for the bozo next door to shatter, just like Toshiko said."

"And you know this how?" She stood with hands on hips, blocking him from leaving the shop.

"Basic chemistry. The trick will be getting bozo to stand still while you throw it over him."

"Me!?"

"Yeah. Ianto and I'll distract him, you throw. Sounds like a fair division of labour to me." He glanced at Ianto, eyebrows raised. "She always like this?"

"Pretty much." Ianto was smiling, delighted to see Jack acting so much like his normal self. He may have lost a good part of his memories but his instincts were unchanged. If anyone could devise a scheme – the madder the better – for taking out a threat, it was Jack.

"How are you going to distract it?" She wasn't sure about the madcap scheme but she couldn't come up with anything better.

"Oh, I don't know? Run up and shoot it, maybe?" He was grinning again. "We need to get it out of the shop then you douse it. Andy can get the people out."

"Andy Davidson is not doing anything!"

Jack stopped and looked at her curiously. "You two together? I thought there was a bit of spark between you."

"We are not together," she said between gritted teeth. "I happen to be engaged." She waved the ring in front of his nose.

"_If you don't do something soon the creature will reach the trapped people," _came over the comms. _"And Owen is on foot now, says it'll be quicker. ETA is ten minutes." _Toshiko sounded calm but exasperated.

"Congratulations. Take these." Jack hefted one of the flagons to Gwen who nearly buckled from the weight. "Okaaaay, I'll put this one outside, you …"

"Don't be stupid," interrupted Gwen. "I can't hold the thing, how am I going to be able to pour it over bozo? You'll have to do it." She thrust the flagon at him. "Come on, Ianto." She ran out of the shop and Ianto followed, both were clutching their guns.

The creature was banging on the door of the storeroom which, luckily for the people trapped on the other side, was metal; one of the security measures the owner had installed after he'd been robbed three times. Even so, the door was dented and buckling and a few more well aimed hits would force it off its hinges. Gwen ran up and took aim, firing at the top of the creature. The bullet barely attracted the alien's attention. She fired again, as did Ianto standing to one side of her. The combined firepower did the trick and the creature turned, moving towards them.

"Time to retreat, Ianto," she said, walking backwards. "Don't waste bullets, we don't know how many we'll need."

The two kept their eyes and guns trained on the creature, walking slowly back to the front of the shop and out of the shattered window. Both fired off another round each to keep the creature focussed on them. As they stepped further back, Gwen saw Jack stood at the side, the flagon of blue liquid in his hands. The creature hesitated in the shop window but three more well aimed shots brought it out into the open. Ianto noticed that the bullets had little effect on the creature's mobility but small dribbles of dark matter were running from the holes they had made, mixing with the slime.

Jack took his chance and darted in, flinging some of the blue liquid over the creature's back. He ran back when it turned on him and only halted when its attention was once more centred on Gwen and Ianto who were firing in earnest. Jack ran in again and emptied the last of the liquid over the creature's side before again retreating.

Gwen could see the creature was getting angry; it was roaring and moving for her and Ianto. "We can't hold it much longer!" she yelled.

"Going as fast as I can," Jack yelled back, already on his way with the clear liquid.

He sloshed some over the alien and where it met the blue there was a hiss and a fizz and small wisps of smoke. Encouraged, he came in closer and planted himself, taking aim and pouring the liquid where he could see the blue had stuck to the creature's skin. More hissing and fizzing resulted and the smoke became thicker. The skin began to crackle. Maddened by what was happening to it, the alien was twisting and turning, moving round in unsteady circles. Ianto and Gwen fired again, hoping to hit a vital organ or at least hold it in place. Jack suddenly remembered his own gun, pulled it out of the holster and joined in.

Even as its skin crackled and consumed itself, the creature's flailing became more extreme and it staggered around, hitting out at anything within reach. One of its arms caught Ianto and he was sent flying, colliding with Jack. They landed almost under the wheels of a parked fire engine. Gwen was standing alone, firing repeatedly, aware that the creature was toppling towards her but unwilling to move.

* * *

_Will Gwen be okay? Read the next chapter and find out .._


	10. Chapter 9

_Will they defeat the creature? Will they survive? Will Jack get his memories back? Read on … _

* * *

**Who?**

Chapter Nine

It was all happening in slow motion. Ianto could see the creature – he wished it had a name – leaning to one side then swaying and leaning the other way. Its skin was blackened and smoking even more now, the slime seemed to have caught fire and spread Jack's cocktail all over its large body. But Ianto's attention was not wholly taken by this sight. He was concerned for Gwen who was too close to the flailing creature. If she didn't move, and soon, it would fall on top of her.

"Gwen!" he yelled but his voice was muffled by the folds of Jack's greatcoat. It – and Jack who was still inside – were on top of him, pinning him to the ground. They were in a heap and Jack was unable to get off him as he was pinned against the fire engine under which they were both lying.

"Here, let me help," said Andy Davidson, pulling on Jack's arm and releasing him. He had watched the two men tumble into the confined space and run to help, recognising he was out of his depth in dealing with the creature.

"Thanks," gasped Jack. He knew it was a mistake to wear the damned coat. Without that he'd have been able to wriggle free. He sat to one side as Ianto slid forward, getting to one knee.

"Gwen!" he shouted. He rose to his feet and made to go to her aid but was held back.

"You sure I can't die?" asked Jack urgently. At Ianto's nod, Jack ran towards Gwen shouting over his shoulder, "You'd better be right!"

Ianto and Andy watched as Jack sprinted forward, greatcoat flying behind him, and grabbed Gwen round the waist. He lifted her off her feet and kept running but her added weight slowed him. He had taken only two more paces before the creature, now a mass of smouldering, cracking and disintegrating substance toppled forward and fell. It caught Jack and, just before he was partially buried, he gave an almighty heave and threw Gwen ahead. She landed a metre away, rolled four times and lay still.

-ooOoo-

Owen was panting hard – he had run the last four miles and was knackered - when he rounded the corner into Beulah Road. There was a mass of people and police standing behind cordon tape and abandoned vehicles beyond that. He shouted, "Torchwood," to an officer and fairly dived under the tape and ran through the vehicles, noticing the SUV amongst them, and on to the row of shops. It was quiet here, the area having been cleared of people. Rounding a parked ambulance he started to slow and then stopped.

The smell of toxic burning was heavy in the air and he coughed as he walked forward. In front of him was a pile of blackened … cinders? He wasn't sure. Upwind of it sat Ianto, cradling a singed and dead Jack Harkness. No one else was in sight. Then there was movement from a shop with a shattered window and a battered Gwen appeared, helping some people out with her cop friend, Andy, coming up the rear. It took Owen a moment but then he remembered: these were the people who had been trapped inside the building.

"Gwen, anything I can do?" Owen asked, striding forwards.

"It's done. That," she looked at the cinders, "is all that's left of the creature. Could you help with these?" She indicated the five shocked people she and Andy were helping. "Check them over, maybe, and give them a drink with something in it."

Owen got the message, she wanted Retcon in their tea. "Sure. What about you? And Ianto and Jack?" He took the older woman's arm as Gwen released it.

"We're okay and Jack will be. He saved me, saved all of us even though he didn't know what was going on." Owen nodded and moved after Andy who was leading the group towards waiting helpers. "Keep everyone back, 'til Jack recovers. And, Owen, give Andy the Retcon too." The last was said under her breath.

"Will do." He helped the rescued woman to the waiting paramedics. Over the comms, he heard Gwen updating Toshiko.

The greatcoat was dirty, black and scorched in places. Ianto was patting at it, removing the worst of the damage as he waited for Jack to wake.

When the creature had fallen, pinning Jack beneath it, Ianto had gone to his side but the heat and fumes were too intense. Running back to the fire engine, he had found a heavy bladed axe then - coughing - used the blunt edge to sweep away the crumbled remnants of the creature and pulled Jack away from it, dragging him a metre or so. Leaving him, he had helped Gwen to her feet. She was dazed and had taken a few minutes to recover, sitting on the kerb with her head between her knees. Finally, he had joined Andy who, having himself checked Gwen, was forcing the metal door open to release the people inside. They were distraught and almost hysterical and it took both men some time to quieten them.

Only when all this was done had Ianto been able to return to Jack. He had taken his boss and lover in his arms and held him tight. Jack was dead, of course, no one could have survived what he had been through, and Ianto planned to wait until he awoke.

"Ianto, are you all right?" asked Gwen, coming up and squatting beside him. She was tired, dirty and had grazes on her face and hands. She brushed her hair out of her eyes where it had come loose.

"Yeah, you?"

"Fine, thanks to Jack." She put a hand on her boss's shoulder. "He'll be all right," she assured Ianto.

"I know. But someone needs to be with him when he wakes up. If he hasn't got his memory back this will be like the first time for him." They fell silent, both wondering what Jack experienced; he'd never been willing or maybe able to explain.

"Owen's dosing everyone with Retcon. I'll see if I can get the SUV up here, then we can take Jack back to the Hub." Gwen stood up pleased to see Ianto nod before returning to his obsessional rubbing at Jack's coat.

As Gwen walked back to the cordon, she took in afresh the scene around her. Shattered glass littered the ground; the display stand lay where it had been thrown; newspapers and magazines flew around, set free from the newsagent's shelves; emergency vehicles were parked where they had been abandoned, doors open and lights flashing. She felt like she was walking through a war zone. Reaching the SUV, she climbed in and started the engine, inching the large vehicle forward slowly between the emergency vehicles until she was close to Ianto and Jack.

The blackness was everywhere and the silence was frightening. There was nothing: no light; no sound; no feeling. It was a horrible place, this place of nothingness. Gradually, the blackness receded, a lightening of the space around him. And a sound came to him faintly. Thud – silence – thud - silence – thud, thud – silence – thud thud. It gained speed, became regular and closer. It was familiar, a sound he knew. A good sound. It was his heart beating again. Jack gasped for air, arms reaching out for something to hold onto, anything to prove he was alive. The pain was excruciating, raking every atom of his being. He was terrified. His hand encountered something solid - warm flesh - and a voice spoke, heard above the thudding of his heart, a vaguely familiar voice.

"You're safe, Jack, you're okay. Just relax, you'll be fine in a moment. You're fine, just fine."

The voice kept repeating the words and eventually Jack understood and believed them. His breathing slowed and his eyes focussed on a face, a pleasing face, Ianto's face. He realised he was lying in the young man's arms and was holding his hand; it felt good to do that. "Ianto?" he croaked.

"Yes, I'm here. Lie still a bit longer. You're fine now."

The pain grew less, faded into the oblivion he had just left. Jack did as he was told, happy to believe the man. Ianto had told Jack he was immortal and had been proved right. He could be trusted. Jack relaxed, letting his body rest against the young man's as he tried to remember precisely where he was and what had happened. The suburbs, they'd driven here in the big black vehicle, the shops, the creature … the creature! Jack started up, looking round wildly.

"Jack, what's the matter?" Ianto held onto his boss's shoulders.

"The creature, where is it?"

"Over there." Ianto gazed at the heap of cinders, some of which were blowing away in the slight breeze. "It's dead. You killed it."

"I did?" Jack turned to face Ianto and even through the coating of dirt and grime, Ianto could see he was aghast.

"You had to, there was no other way of stopping it. The trapped people are safe now as well as everyone else."

"Good, good." Jack looked a little reassured as he scanned the area. "Gwen? And Andy?" he asked.

"They're fine. Andy's taken the rescued people to the ambulances and Gwen's just coming. See, she's in the SUV." Jack followed Ianto's gaze and saw the big vehicle coming towards them.

"We did it," said Jack after a moment's pause. "We beat the alien!"

"Yes, we did." Ianto was smiling at Jack's childlike pleasure.

"My first alien!" Jack saw Ianto's smile falter and disappear; he understood. "No, my memory's not back." He shared his disappointment.

-ooOoo-

The clean up did not take long. Ianto and Gwen scooped up the remains of the alien and placed them in a container for later analysis. Owen helped the paramedics assess the trapped people; they were shocked and the owner of the shop, who had a heart problem, was giving cause for concern. They were all loaded into ambulances and ferried to the hospital but not before Owen had given each Retcon in their drinks. He managed to slip it into Andy Davidson's cup of tea too. Jack sat in the back of the SUV, put there by Ianto who told him that it was normal procedure and that he needed to recover. Jack felt fine but decided not to argue the point. In any case, he wouldn't have been able to help much; these people seemed to know exactly what to do without words.

Finally, the team climbed into the SUV and Ianto carefully drove it out onto Caerphilly Road and headed for the Bay. Traffic was still heavy but it was moving better than before. They dropped Owen by his abandoned car and then, in convoy, they carried on along the detours round the area still affected by the power cut that had brought the city centre to a standstill.

It was a tired and dirty group of people who walked into the Hub where Toshiko was waiting for them.

* * *

_Will Jack ever get his memories back? Read the next chapter to find out …_


	11. Chapter 10

_The team recover in the Hub and Jack does some strange things..._

* * *

**Who?**

Chapter Ten

"Well done, all of you," said Toshiko from her desk, "that looked awful." She was suffering her usual reaction to a difficult operation; guilt at being safe in the Hub while her colleagues were facing danger. She had watched the proceedings on grainy CCTV images but the angle had not been perfect and some of the action had been out of the field of vision.

"Thanks to your input too, Tosh. We couldn't have done it without you." Gwen smiled wearily. "Did you work out what it was?"

"No, it's totally new. Best as I can work out, it was dropped into the shop by the Rift and attacked anything that moved."

"Add it to the database for next time," replied Gwen. "And now, I am going to go and have a long, hot shower."

"When you're done, I'll look at your grazes," said Owen. He had flopped onto the sofa. As he had arrived late at the scene, he was still reasonably clean if a bit sweaty from his run. Gwen nodded and went off to the bathroom. "Ianto, you okay?" asked Owen.

"Yeah, thanks. Anyone want coffee?" he asked, looking round.

"Love one but it can wait until after you've cleaned up," said Owen. He was keen to build bridges with the Welshman after the tongue lashing he had given him at lunch. He and Ianto were not close but the doctor had come to recognise the other man's strengths and to value his contribution to the team. It had taken awhile but under the surface insults they respected one another.

"I can make one if you …"

"Go and shower, Ianto, you smell!"

"Suppose I do too," commented Jack, looking down at his battered clothing. It was strange how his body mended but his clothes remained torn and dirty. He sniffed loudly and pulled a face. "Where do we wash? And do I have a change of clothes here?"

"You can use your bunker," said Ianto.

"My what?"

"Your bunker, your quarters." Ianto smiled at Jack's expression. "Sorry, I should have explained; you live here."

"In this dump? I was hoping for a penthouse with room service."

"No, all you've got is a hole in a cellar with a Pteranodon for a pet," put in Owen, grinning.

"What a weird person I am."

"You said it, mate!" The two men exchanged grins.

"It's this way." Ianto walked to the office and opened and secured the hatch. "These are your quarters," he said, gesturing down.

"Oh my God, you weren't joking."

"It's quite nice actually, a bit like a ship's cabin." Ianto smiled faintly.

"So, do you live down there with me?" Jack smirked.

"No – but I visit." He grinned and then turned and walked away.

-ooOoo-

It was a strange feeling to be in a place that was supposedly his home but that didn't look the slightest bit familiar. Jack was sitting on the bed, which he thought small and hard, looking round. He'd had a shower and dressed in clothes he had found in the drawers and wardrobe. The place did resemble a ship's cabin but to Jack they were spaceships not sailing ships. The compact space was well fitted out with cupboards in all the nooks and crannies of the odd shaped space. He'd looked through the cupboards but nothing was familiar.

He wondered, sitting there gazing round, who had built this living space. Had it been here all the time? Had he lived here for years and years? He was immortal, events had proved that, and supposed he could have been here for decades, centuries even. But if he had been here that long, why did he have memories of spaceships and civilisations much more sophisticated than this one? Why did he know that something was coming? That something was going to happen here sometime soon? It was as if he had special knowledge, knew about the future.

And that brought him back to the immortality. Ever since his run in with the creature, he had pushed thoughts of his death and resurrection to the back of his mind. But he had to face them sometime. How was it possible he could resurrect like that? What had made him like this? From the reaction of the rest of the team, his dying and coming back to life was no big deal; only Ianto seemed to be affected. It was so hard to know how to respond, how to come to terms with the fact that he couldn't die. He sighed. If his memories never returned he would have years and years to consider all these issues and he decided to leave them for another day. What good was it going to do him if he fretted over it all. Better to leave it be for now.

"Jack, you all right down there?" came from above him. Owen, the doctor, checking up on him.

"Yeah, just coming up." He climbed the ladder and joined Owen, Toshiko and Ianto. "I was looking round down there, it's like an Aladdin's cave." He smiled, standing with his hands in his pockets. He noticed the silence and saw them staring at him. "What?"

"Where did you find those?" asked Ianto, gesturing to his clothes.

"Down there. They were stuffed at the back, behind that old-fashioned gear. Why?" He looked down at himself. The trainers, jeans and sweatshirt were all fastened correctly and seemed suitable for a night in a cold, damp cellar. "What's wrong with them?"

"Bloody hell! What have you got on, Jack?" exclaimed Gwen, coming up behind him. She circled him, a grin on her face.

"It's the same as Owen's wearing. What's the fuss about?"

"You never wear jeans," she protested, "though you've got the arse for them, I'll give you that!" She slapped it playfully.

He grinned. "Glad you like it."

"You look so different," said Toshiko, still marvelling at the transformation. Jack looked … normal, just like everyone else. She liked it but at the same time was disappointed; without his forties-style clothes he was diminished in some way. He had lost the larger than life presence.

"But still gorgeous, eh Tosh?" He was beaming at her and she grinned back. His personality had not changed at all, whatever clothes he was wearing and whether he had his memories or not.

"You all want some coffee?" asked Ianto, recovering from the shock. He had not known Jack possessed modern clothes and was unsettled seeing him look so different. There were general murmurs of agreement.

"Um, could I have tea?" asked Jack. This earned even more startled looks. "Now what?"

"You never drink tea," supplied Toshiko, looking at him strangely. "You live on coffee. Owen, are you sure this is Jack?"

"I'm starting to doubt it!" said Owen.

"Will you all just stop!? No doubt you're enjoying playing with my mind but right now I've had enough! I am wearing comfortable and suitable clothing for this place and I want a cup of tea. If you don't like it, tough!" He plonked himself down on the sofa, put his feet on the coffee table and crossed his arms. He glared at them.

"Of course you can have tea, if that what's you want. Um, milk and sugar?" asked Ianto, still bemused.

"Yeah, two sugars."

Ianto went off to make the beverages. One of the fixed points in his working and private life had just shifted through one hundred and eighty degrees. If Jack wore normal clothes and drank tea then perhaps nothing was the same any more. Working the coffee machine gave the Welshman time to recover and he was wearing his normal impersonal expression as he handed round the drinks. Gwen was having her grazes treated and she and Owen took their coffees in the Medical Bay, the other three gathered round the sofa.

"So I live here," said Jack, breaking the awkward silence. "What about the rest of you?"

"We all have flats around the city," replied Toshiko. She told him of her new place and they had a lively discussion about the advantages of black silk sheets.

"Isn't it time you went home?" He had checked his watch and discovered it was close to seven o'clock.

"You usually tell us when to go," said Ianto, sipping his coffee. He was surreptitiously watching Jack drink his tea, surprised that the man was enjoying it. He glanced over as Owen and Gwen emerged from the Medical Bay, the latter with a gauze dressing on one cheek.

"Well, go home then. You all started early when I got blown up." It was hard to believe that so much had happened in a little over twelve hours. "No doubt you've all got wives and husbands – or fiancés – waiting for you." Jack saw them look at one another and groaned loudly, "Now what have I said!?"

"Gwen's the only one with anyone at home," said Toshiko in a quiet voice, shooting a sidelong glance at Owen who was looking the other way.

"I am not going to say anything else until or unless my memory returns," Jack pronounced, standing up. "Good night all." He walked to his office and shut the door. They saw him sit at his desk and begin reading a paperback book.

"You all get on home, I'll stay and keep an eye on him and the Rift," volunteered Ianto.

"I'll be here for a bit longer. Want to make a start on the lovely box of cinders you scraped up for me," said Owen, finishing his coffee and handing Ianto the mug. "You girls might as well as get off."

"Okay," agreed Gwen. If she went now she'd have time for a few hours with Rhys before bed and could make up for her abrupt departure that morning.

"I'm going to wait for this translation to complete, should only be another hour or so." She turned back to her desk, preferring the Hub to her empty flat where memories of her night with Tommy Brockless were still painful. Ianto gathered the mugs and went off to wash up and then go about his usual routine tasks.

At midnight the four were still in the Hub, gathered in Jack's office playing poker. They had been there for nearly three hours, playing for matches, and Toshiko was the big winner. Glasses and beer bottles were strewn around and Ianto had gone so far as to remove his jacket and loosen his tie though he adamantly refused to take off his waistcoat.

Laughter resounded off the brick walls as Jack flung up his hands and declared, "That's it, I'm bankrupt. Go home, people." Reluctantly, the party broke up and Owen and Toshiko left together.

Ianto lingered in the office, clearing up as his excuse. If Jack wanted it, he was willing to sleep with him. If not, he'd crash on the sofa. When they were alone, Ianto stood watching his boss collect up the matches they'd been using as the stakes. "You going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jack smiled at him then recognised the look on the young man's face; Ianto wanted him. And why not? He, Jack, was a gorgeous guy. "You want to join me downstairs?" He nodded towards the hatch.

"Okay."

* * *

_Last chapter to come. Jack's memories return but how? Anyone want to speculate about what triggers them?_


	12. Epilogue

_Jack gets his memories back, but how? _

* * *

**Who?**

Epilogue

Ianto woke from a deep, dreamless sleep alone in Jack's small bed. He lay back and stretched. It had been a good night, a very good night. He realised that the faint noise he could hear was humming and it was coming from above him; Jack must be in his office. Ianto glanced at his watch - 6:50 - time to be up and working. He had a quick shower and shaved, dressing in the suit he had changed into the day before and a clean shirt. He emerged from the hatch to see Jack sitting at his desk dressed in his customary 1940s clothing but not working.

"Morning," said Ianto, smiling.

"Morning. Hope I didn't wake you." Jack returned the smile, sitting back in his chair and admiring the view. In his hand he was twisting the 'blade' taken from Beth Halloran's arm.

"Time I was up and about anyway." Ianto shifted uncomfortably under the stare. He felt like a specimen being studied, a captive butterfly pinned to a board.

Jack rose and walked round the desk to stand beside the Welshman. He held Ianto's hips and leant in to kiss him. The kiss was long and gentle and left the young man tingling. "Last night was … Well, it was just like the first time."

"It was. I was so nervous and … Hang on, you can remember?" Ianto pulled back, his gaze on Jack's face.

"Yeah. Must have come back in the night. I woke up and it was all there; Torchwood, the operations, the others, you." He smiled a silly smile, "If I'd known that great sex would bring them flooding back I'd have had you earlier." He laughed heartily when Ianto blushed.

"You're sure all the memories are back?" queried Ianto, ignoring the embarrassment.

"As sure as I can be. But if there are any gaps I know how to fill them." Jack leered and kissed Ianto again, hands wandering.

"Oh yes, you're definitely back to normal." Ianto pulled away again and this time disentangled himself. "Cup of tea?" he asked mischievously.

"Very funny. I often make myself tea but coffee made by you will always be my morning preference." Jack was chuckling as he sat back at his desk; the paperwork there unfortunately now made sense to him and he had a pile of reports to check and sign off.

-ooOoo-

The morning passed in a round of routine duties for all members of the Torchwood team. Everyone was relieved Jack had his memories back and resumed their normal roles without difficulty.

Toshiko was first in and Jack managed to sit and chat with her, checking how she was coping with the loss of Tommy Brockless and giving her confidence a much needed boost. When Gwen arrived she joined Jack in his office and they had a private chat. She was radiant when she emerged, on a high from Jack's praise for the way she had handled him and the team. A medical examination was demanded by Owen when he rolled in an hour later than everyone else but still early for him. Jack endured the tests the doctor considered necessary and used the opportunity to thank him for his support. The two men were usually at loggerheads and Jack had not expected such friendship and said so, managing to embarrass Owen for the first and last time.

In the late morning, Jack and Gwen went to see the market trader who had bought items from James Ingalls. They confiscated his stock and sufficiently frightened the man to ensure he never touched alien artefacts again. At lunch time, they caught up with Alfie Simmonds and warned him of the danger in the items he found lying around. He was a good kid and agreed to alert Gwen when he came across anything; Jack intended to slip him a few quid from time to time for his trouble. Alfie handed over his photographs of what he had found in the past which they promised to return after Toshiko and Ianto had gone through them. That was one promise Jack did not intend to keep.

On their way back to the Hub, Jack made a detour to Rhiwbina and the shops where the still nameless alien had run amok. They parked and wandered around among the Council workers repairing the damage. Here, they came across a familiar figure.

"Andy, how are you?" asked Jack genially, slapping a hand on the other man's shoulder. He remembered the professional and even kind way that Andy Davidson had treated him the day before. He had not played any cheap tricks which, Jack had to admit, Andy had every right to have done.

"I'm all right. Why?" He looked at Jack askance wondering what the other man wanted; Jack had never acknowledged Andy's existence before. "What's he up to, Gwen?" he asked, glancing between the two.

"Hey, I was just asking," replied Jack, arms flung wide in a show of innocence.

"Ignore him," said Gwen seeing the confusion Jack 'being nice' caused. "Find anything here?"

"Sod all. I'm on clean up, I am. On sodding light duties." He looked and sounded disgusted as he kicked at a stray piece of metal lying on the ground.

"Why's that?"

"Lost my bleeding memory!" he exclaimed. "Can't remember yesterday at all. Complete blank. Nada. Been told I was here but I can't remember a thing." He was shaking his head in frustration.

"Sorry to hear it," said Jack, clapping him on the back again. "I hear there's a lot of it going about."

He and Gwen kept straight faces until they had turned and taken a pace towards the SUV then burst into peals of laughter. Andy Davidson looked after them suspiciously then shook his head and went back to his job.

* * *

_And that's your lot. Hope you enjoyed the story and many thanks for the reviews.(By the way, Jack's memory really came back naturally and had nothing to do with whatever he and Ianto were doing at the time!)_


End file.
